PVCHR is has received information about The Foundry name is BSL- Bhupendra Steels, Sector 24, Plot no: 263, Faridabad.

Children are working on the site, in illegal and extremely unhealthy conditions, earning 20 rupees per day. Similarly women are working at the site with no PF, ESI, and 26 rupees per day. The company is a Foundry with 180 employees not providing any first aid or ESI. False documents are systematically being produced by BSL on people who are not to be found on the site. No safety equipments are provided at all, goggles, helmets, face mask, no check on furnace pollution. No over-time compensation is given.

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

--The Buddha

"We are what we think. With our thoughts we make our world." - Buddha

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Ms. Shruti Navanshi, Hari Ram Vanwasi and Father Pramod were honoured by the Dr. P. L. Punia Chairperson National Schedule Caste Commission of India for their extraordinary and courageous work of Dalit Rights in a camp in the Viswa Jyoti Gurukul Christ Nagar, Varanasi on 11 January, 2011 in a bid to make the dalits aware of their rights as provided in the in the Indian Constitution. Since there has been a spurt in dalit atrocities in Uttar Pradesh, motive behind organizing this camp to try and ensure people fight for their rights and against harassment by the government officials. In the Varanasi division camp, around 5,000 SC and ST representatives from adjacent districts of Varanasi including Ghazipur, Chanduali, Jaunpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Sonbhadra took part and handed over the petition.

Nineteen-year-old Santosh Patel left his home in Purabpur village, near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, at 5 p.m. on December 13, 2006, to join two friends for dinner. He then disappeared.

In written statements, police said Patel and an accomplice stole a cashbox from a small shop in Harahua market at 6:30 p.m. and fled on his motorbike. Sub-inspector Ravindra Bhusan Maurya of the Harhua police post, drinking tea at a nearby shop, heard noises and called Mahendra Pratap Yadav, inspector for the Badagaon police station, on his mobile phone. Yadav pursued Patel and his accomplice in his jeep from one direction, while Maurya approached from the other. Finding themselves cornered, Patel or his accomplice opened fire. Police fired back in self-defense, killing Patel while his accomplice escaped in the darkness.
Patel’s family disputed the police’s account, and in January 2008 they succeeded in getting an FIR registered against the police and other individuals that alleges a conspiracy to murder Patel. According to Patel’s brother Ramlal, on December 13, Patel’s friends Manoj Kumar Yadav and Bully Yadav called him continually from noon, urging him to attend a dinner party. Two hours after Patel left on his motorcycle for the dinner, one of his brothers received an anonymous call saying that Patel had been in an accident. A neighbor also received an anonymous call saying Patel was at Pragya Hospital Harahua, but when they later checked they found the hospital had no record of him having been there.
In a statement to a local magistrate, Patel’s father, who died in 2008, said police denied knowing Patel’s whereabouts later that night, well after the time of the alleged encounter killing:

I went to Harahua police chowki to inquire into the matter. I was told there that there was not any matter related with an accident....[Later] when I came back to Harahua police chowki, I saw that the motorcycle of [my son] was standing there. When I asked the policemen about that motorcycle, I was told that the dead body of Santosh Kumar Patel had been sent to Badagaon police station.
The next morning, the family read in the newspaper that Patel had been killed in an encounter while supposedly robbing a shop. Patel’s brother Ramlal told us that the police’s account was implausible and internally inconsistent, based on fabricated evidence that did not match the supposed crime:

Police say this happened at 7 p.m. The place of the supposed incident, the nearby residents didn’t hear any fire....The shop that was supposedly a petty shop, why was the cashbox that was recovered full of 500 rupee notes? The statement of the shopkeeper was that the culprit was very built, but [Patel] was small.
Patel’s post-mortem report also showed “blackening of the body,” indicating a shot from very close-range rather than a shoot-out, as alleged by police.

The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Allahabad High Court, Uttar Pradesh seeking directions to the Uttar Pradesh Government for quashing its communication dated 16th June, 2006, under which four categories of brick kiln labourers including nikasiwala, pathera, bharaiwala and chunaiwala were denied the befit revised wages.

While enquiring into a complaint of bonded labour, it was noticed by the Commission that the wages of the above mentioned four categories of brick kiln workers had not been revised by the Government of Uttar Pradesh since the 8th August, 1990. The State Government did issue a notification on the 24th February, 2006 revising the wages of the brick kiln labourers, but the notification was subsequently withdrawn on the 16th June, 2006 with the result that the poor labourers working in brick kilns were doomed to a state of penury and reduced to the status of bonded labourers. To compel the State Government to perform its statutory duty under the Minimum Wages Act, the NHRC filed the writ petition in the High Court.

Considering the issue raised by the NHRC on the 9th March, 2011 the Court observed that under the provisions of Minimum Wages Act, revision of wages has to take place under Section 3(1)(b) of the Act at intervals not exceeding five years. It also observed that it has come across a large number of writ petitions, wherein the bonded labour is engaged and that it had issued directions from time to time and the State Government has also been called upon to give its response in the matters.

The Court ordered that the State Government is directed to file counter affidavit explaining as to why the four categories of labourers were excluded from the notification for revised wages and the steps taken to revise the wages in terms of the Minimum Wages Act. The next date of hearing is fixed on the 30th March, 2011.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Dr. Lenin, a renowned human rights defender, demanded to declare 9 December (the Declaration on human rights defenders was adopted by United Nations on 9 December 1998) as human rights defenders day at a meeting of hundreds of human rights defenders, coming from different parts of the country, held at Paradkar Bhavan in Varanasi under the aegis of PVCHR (Peoples ‘Vigilance Committee on Human Rights) under European Union(EU) project on reducing the police torture of Muslim Minority , Research and Rehabilitation Centre on Torture(RCT) and Human Rights Defenders Alert. He announced the protection of human rights defenders as the need of the hour and stressed that the state cannot avoid its responsibility to take care of rights activists in the light of Article 2 of the Declaration on human rights defenders by United Nations.

Mr. Chitaranjan Singh, National Secretary of Peoples Union for Civil Liberty was also present at the meeting and presided over the meeting of human rights defenders. In his presidential address Mr. Singh demanded that National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) should strive for its independent investigating mechanism so that it could be able to conduct prompt, independent and impartial investigation into a case of rights violation. He shared his experiences at the meeting regarding his personal involvement into strenuous movement conducted for the establishment of State Human Rights Commission in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Many human rights defenders like Buddhi Narayan Toppo, a tribal young human rights defeders from Sonebhadra, Govidsharan from Allahabad, Mangal Singh from Mahoba, Parvez from Kaushambi, Sanjay singh from Jalaun, all victimised for their activities, were present at the meeting and submitted their testimonies before the gatherings, which made the occasion a sorrowful event. Budhiram Toppo was sent to jail in false cases, tortured and threatened to kill for working on the land rights and right to life of the tribal communities in Sonebhadra. Mr. Sanjay singh whose father late Lalla Singh was killed for their work of human rights was awarded with ‘Jan Mitra Samman’ at the occasion. Mr. Harishchandra alias Bhothu Musahar, a survivor of police torture, was also honoured at this occasion by offering him Rs. 5000 and a Shawl. However, at the same time it inspired the gathering of rights defenders to take the issue of violation of rights of rights defenders seriously and a call was made to involve civil society to intervene immediately and effectively.

Mr. Anil Parashar, joint registrar and focal point-Human Rights defenders of NHRC was also present in the meeting. He assured the rights defenders present at the meeting that NHRC is aware of the rights of them and it sends its recommendation to the Central and State governments regarding measures taken to protect the rights of the victims by means of compensation or taking action against the perpetrators. He also said that the annual reports of NHRC are sent to the Parliament as to discuss on the issue of human rights violations.

Mr. Sunil Sahasrabuddhe, a reputed Gandhian in the city and a rights activist said at the meeting that there was an important role of rights activists in the society but it is ironic that the human rights defenders have been facing hostilities for a long time. They are being harassed and implicated in false criminal cases. According to Mr. Sunil, the right to life of the people is getting bad to worse day by day.

At the meeting of nearly 260 Human Rights defenders of 45 organizations it was decided to convene a national level meeting on coming 9 December in Varanasi order to celebrate human rights defenders day and to raise awareness about the rights of human rights defenders.

Uttar Pradesh biggest state of the nation with largest population also carries the distinction of maximum number of cases of torture by the state. The plights of Human Rights Defenders are no less pathetic than other states. Everyday newspaper carries the stories of the struggle faced by the human rights defenders in the remotest part of the state.

Thereare many security risks for rights defenders i.e. obstruction in their day-today work, receiving threatening to keep quiet in the cases of corruption, Caste atrocities, gender based violence and communal fascismfrom village level goons to government officials, threatening from police to get implicated in false cases and even threatening on their life etc.

In the state of Uttar Pradesh in main land India as cow belt (belt of communal Fascism based heart land of upper caste ruler) where feudal social and economic structure is still prevalent give rise to widespread corruption with violence based on sex, Gender, caste, ethnicityand rights defenders fighting against corruption, violence and torture often face obstructions and discouragement from village level goons and local administration as both collude to each other in committing corruption as well as violence and an ordinary rights activist can hardly think of any support from police or other existing tools to lessen his security risks by receiving safeguards from the state agencies. This type of security risks are commonly experienced by rights activists working for the poverty alleviation or for ensuring the right to food of marginalised communities, bringing in transparency in Public Distribution System.

The Human rights defenders responds to the threats in many ways; like complaining with the concerned local administrative and police authorities, to file complaint with judiciary, to stage protest before the authorities to draw the attention of concerned authority as well as to draw the attention of public at large.They also share the incidents of threats or harassments with other human rights organisations within the country or with international rights bases organisations.

The National Human Rights Commission, India 2010 has listed 25 cases related to the human rights defenders, out of which 12 cases are from Uttar Pradesh. The national, regional and political parties have been expressing their concerns on growing attacks on the human rights defender in the state.

Case No. 1

In the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, the alleged murderer of Lalla Singh, father of Sanjay Singh of Paramarth Samaj Sewi Sansthan in Jalaun, PS Madhogarh, village Mirzapur is still absconding. Before that he gave threat to Sanjay Singh and his brother Anil Singh.[i]

Sanjay Singh father Lalla was murdered on September 12, 2009. Lalla Singh was a committed social worker and registered medical practitioner. He rendered decades of social service in his village and the surrounding areas. Paramarth, headed by Sanjay Singh, an icon for social activism in Bundelkhand, has rendered decades of social service in Jalaun in particular and Bundelkhand in general. Police and government officials have refused to seriously consider a case of murder of a social worker in a Jaulan village by the son of the corrupt village head.

On September 12 night, when Sanjay and his family, along with other village members went to file an FIR, the circle officer and station-in-charge did not attend to them. After the brutal murder of Lalla Singh, the accused remained in the same village and despite repeated requests of the villagers, police did not arrest him. Rather it repeatedly chose to deny his presence in the village. The alleged murderer killed two more villagers around 6 AM on September 13 [almost 13 hours after the killing of Lalla Singh] and then opened fire in the presence of the police. Almost 15 hours after the murder of Lalla Singh, the murderer dramatically surrendered and was finally arrested by the police.

The police have been colluding with the family of the murderer to weaken the case in every way and also terrorising Sanjay's family to drop the case against him. Vipin (the killer) is the son of the village head. The prime reason behind the murders appears to be the upcoming panchayat elections.

Case No. 2

Mangal Singh son of Ghasite resident of Vishal Nagar, district Mahoba of Uttar Pradesh. Mangal Singh, a farmer is fighting against the illegal mining & heavy blasting activities near town Kabrai Mahoba district, which has effected the residents of that areas. He has filed PIL in Honb' High Court, Allahabad CIVIL MISC. WRIT PETITION NO 63396 OF 2009 that turned the stone crusher association against him. On which Mangal Singh sought security from Honb' High Court. The Honb' Court ordered but till now he did not get any security.

Case No.3

Hari Lal MNREGA Fighter and leader of Voice of People (VOP) of District Kaushambi has been killed in broad day light at 12.00 Noon in his village Lahna, Block Manjhanpur district Kaushambi on independence day, 15 August 2010 at the instance of the corrupt Gram Pradhan Tirath Lal by the contract killers. Thousands of members of the VOP and other organisation gathered in the village and made militant protest, burnt the houses of the killer. A heavy contingent of armed police lead by District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police, Circle Officers and SHOs of various police stations entered into the village and let loose the reign of terror over the villagers, women and children. Two FIRs has been lodged against the leaders and members of the VOP including the common villagers.

The leader of VOP Parvez Rizvi has been named in both the FIRs. One FIR has been lodged u/s 307, 322, 334, 352, 147, 148, 149 IPC and 7 Criminal Amendment Act in which 5 persons have been named and the second FIR has been lodged u/s 353, 336, 506, 427, 352, 436, 392, 147, 148, 149 IPC and 7 Criminal Amendment Act. Both the FIRs have been lodged by police andin both the FIRs VOP leader Parvez Rizvi has been named.

Hari Lal, A dalit was active in organising the labourers and the marginalised people against the corruption in MNREGA in all 3 blocks namely Manjhanpur, Kaushambi and Sarsawan of district Kaushambi and on several occasions, he alongwith other leaders lead thousands of labourers to the district Head quarters against the loot of contractors, gram pradhan and officers in the implementation of welfare scheme. At one occasion, DM, Kaushambi was compelled to come to the Rally of the labourers and promise to distribute the unpaid wages and on many occasions, BDOs were gheraod for hours and compelled to distribute the wages. Hari Lal was also active with the other leaders of VOP to build a strong trade union of Bidi Workers under the banner of "Kaushambi Bidi Mazdoor Manch" and on 01.07.2010 about 4000 Bidi Workers and their supporters held a massive rally in district head quarter Manjhanpur under the leadership of Parvez Rizvi, Hari Lal and others.

The constant fight of VOP and Hari Lal had infuriated the Mafia elements in which the Kaushambi police played an active role. It is to be noted that the Kaushambi Police was informed in advance that the life of Hari Lal is in danger and the Mafia elements had threatened to kill him but the Kaushambi Police kept misterious silent and after the brutal murder of Hari Lal, in the garb of maintaining law and order, the Kaushambi police harassed and arrested the VOP leaders and the common villagers.[ii]

Case No. 4

Shri Govind Saran, Sanchetna NGO, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh the activists of his organization who are raising the issue of 4th grade malnutrition among children of village Village Kaanti, Tahsil Bara, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh were being misbehaved by C.D.O. Allahabad, who is hushing up the matter and one of the activist namely Manoj Kumar was illegally detained at the instance of the CDO.

Case No. 5

Ms. Manju Pathak, Secretary, Jagriti Mahila Sewa Sansthan, Allahabad that on 28.9.2010 about 06.30 pm she was abused, assaulted and beaten up by Meraj Khan, Constable under Sabji Mandi Police Chowki, Khuldabad, Allahabad, UP when she took up the grievances of a victim lady against him.

Case No. 6

Shri Ram Niwas Yadav, Etah, Uttar Pradesh is being harassed by accused policemen because he has filed a case against them of human rights violation. The policemen also got him implicated in a false case.

Case No. 7

Shri Rajiv Kumar Sharma, General Secretary of Bhartiya Manav Adhikar Sanrakshan Sangh & Crime Reporter of NAI News, Ghazibad, UP in his complaint dated 12.10.2010 alleged that he has reported the acts of black marketing by the accused to the authorities, due to which, the accused has given false complaint against him to the police just to harass him.

Case No. 8

Rehana Adeeb, founder of ASTITWA (Action Social team for Women) Social Organization in Purkoji Street, District Muzaffarnager of Uttar Pradesh. Her organization starts having friendly relation with Muslims and dalits women and share their high and lows faces in their life and experience how they individually struggled in their life and run their families.

Astitwa is making effort with this aim and some people or some group is strictly opposing it because they are in the fear of seat and they are playing politics in the name of religion and women. They are raising their voice and doing against Astitwa because they are feared of political game will be ruined. For example provoking with worker, forcefully taking money by entering in office, showing vulgar picture and mentioning it on the piece of paper to women worker, communicating on the mobile etc. several times it was complained in the police station but police respected people of the society unite for doing harassment. Administration entirely oppositely behaving with us "they are already in trouble and we also came to troubled them". In this situation it is very challenging to work. Entire day she work in the field because her house is 90 Km far from my work place. It is very dangerous to sleep alone in the office. Female colleagues help her in day during her work but she is alone in the night.[iii]

Case No. 9

Shjri Nand Lal Shukla, a Human Rights Defender, has apprehended that the Additional Superintendent of Police, Sant Ravidas Nagar, may implicate him in some false cases or kill him in a fake encounter as he showed his reluctance to withdraw his statement made against some police officials of Police Station Gopiganj in his case before the Commission (case No. 224/24/73/09-10).He has requested immediate intervention of the Commission and to render justice.

Case No. 10

Shri A. K. Tripathi, Chairman Bhrashtachar Anveshan Evam Unmulan Sanstha, Lucknow, alleged an activist of his organization along with the victim went with a complaint to meet Superintendent of Police, Ambedkarnagar, Uttar Pradesh where the SP and other police officials assaulted the victim and his family members.

Case No. 11

Shri Narendra Pratap Singh, Jaunpur, Uttar Pradeshvide complaint dated 5/4/2010 alleged that he is a social workerfighting for the rights of vulnerable persons. He espoused the cause of a lady belonging to Scheduled Caste who had a property dispute with the opponents.At the instance of the opponents, the Circle Officer of the area misbehaved, abused, manhandled and threatened the complainant for taking up the case of the poor lady.The Commission transmitted the complaint to the concerned authority to investigate and report to the Commission within four weeks.

Case No. 12

Shri Vinod Prakash Pindara, Member, Amnesty International, Etah, Uttar Pradesh vide complaint dated 8/2/2010 alleged that he being a Human Rights Defender takes up cases of human rights violations and therefore is being threatened by the perpetrators.Inaction on the part of the police authorities of Etah is alleged.

Case No. 13

Mr. Mahesanand, Secretary, Gramya Swaraj Samiti organized protest march Dudhi tehsil to Robersganj district head quarter of Sonbhadra by five thousand tribal and cover 100 km starting from March 10th – 15thon the resolution taken by villager's sundari on 15th January, 2011 after the re-inauguration of Kanhar Dam. He faced threat from the local contractor, police, state and political parties.

Case No. 14

There are many kinds of threats being faced by the PVCHR's activists. Dr. Lenin of Varanasi, who is executive director of PVCHR, has received repeated threatening for his conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism. He has received intimidations, death threats many times. He is also demoralised by making false allegations against him and making false complaint against him. He also receives obstruction by false calls on his mobile phone. Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, Shruti Nagvanshi with other five colleges was charged under 505 B of Indian Penal code

Dalit activists associated with PVCHR are often attacked, assaulted and humiliated for his human rights work and for cooperating with PVCHR in her struggle against caste based violence and other organised violence.

Women activists of PVCHR are very often sexually harassed and threatened with the intention of demoralising them and to break up with the activities of the organisation.[iv]

Case No. 14.a

Human rights defender Mr Aftab Alam received death threats and was the subject of harassment and intimidation on 9 February 2010. Aftab Alam is a weaver by trade and is associated with the Peoples' Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR). Since 2004, Aftab Alam has been working on the issue of hand-loom weavers rights in the Lohta Panchayat region of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, an area where hand-loom weaving is a common occupation. He has reported on the issue of malnutrition, tuberculosis, starvation and the general situation of hand-loom weavers in Lohta following the downturn in the hand-loom weaving industry as a result of the introduction of power looms into India which left many hand-loom weavers without work.

While Aftab Alam was discussing the case with Mukhtar Ahmad, Sujeet Yadav and a group of influential villagers approached them and threatened Aftab Alam, verbally abusing him and warning him not to return to their village. When Aftab Alam asked what he had done wrong the group tried to physically force him onto his motorbike. Fearing for his safety, Aftab Alam quickly left the village on his motorbike.[v]

Case No. 14.b

Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh of Ambedkar Nagar, field activist of PVCHR is threatened by the local authorities for reporting a case of death from starvation. Pritam, three-year-old son of Mr. Ram Karan starved to death in Arkhapur (Alhadapur) on 25 November, 2007. Manoj Kumar was helping Pritam's parents to pursue the local authorities to save Pritam's life.

Manoj was trying to alert the district administration regarding Pritam's situation. Manoj, through the PVCHR contacted the District Magistrate (DM) Mr. Ajay Kumar Upadhyay seeking help from the district administration to help Pritam's family. The response of the district administration however was not positive. The officers at the DM's office threatened Manoj for taking up the cases, particularly those of the Dalit communities in the village. Being insensitive to the plight of the poor people within his jurisdiction, the DM who came to the village the next day after Pritam's death threatened Pritam's father, Raj Karan, intimidating him and shouting at Raj that some of their children would die if a poor person like Raj had several children.[vi]

Case No. 14 c

Human rights activists and villagers were beaten by an organised gang in a village hall after they complained that a social audit was being fabricated, and that many of their names were being misused.The audit was to look into the operation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (NREGA), which is operated by the Village Panchayat. We have also learned that although the office of the village head was reserved for a female candidate and was won by the wife of a local landlord, it is her husband who runs the village.

Lalji and Mr. Magala Rajbhar, an activist associated with the PVCHR, tried to intervene and keep the peace, but were beaten by Singh. The BDO called off the meeting and made moves to leave. When asked to call the police by two female PVCHR staff members (Ms. Shruti and her sister Ms. Anupam), he claimed that he would rather report it personally. Shruti requested that she and Lajli go with him and the three tried to leave, but a mob of upper caste men led by Singh reportedly surrounded the vehicle and demanded that Lalji get out. At this point Mishra allegedly pushed Lalji out of his vehicle, and Shruti followed, fearing for his safety. The two were beaten, and one man, Guddu Dubey, known for his links to the underworld, struck Shruti to the ground. Villagers were able to intervene and the two victims were taken to Phulpur Police Station to make a report.[vii]

Case No. 14 d

Mangala is a resident of Ahirani village and is a permanent staff of the PVCHR. Mangala's field work covers Hamirpur village of Badagaon block in Varanasi district. In September 2007, Mangala had organised protests at the Badagaon and Pindra Block Offices along with the members of the Nut and Musahar communities living in the area against the village and block officers who were demanding bribes for distributing government sponsored aid equipments to the poor.

In addition to the protest in front of the offices, Mangala had also encouraged the villagers to file written complaints against the corrupt officers to the Block Development Officer (BDO) of the neighbouring Pindra Block. In the complaint the villagers had accused that the BDO of Badagaon Block, Mr. Satendra Singh, the head of Badagaon Block and Mr. Lolarak Singh, the village head of Nathaipur village had demanded bribes from the villagers for distributing trolleys.

It is reported that Ajay and Sanjay who threatened Mangala are dreaded criminals in the locality who have several allegations against them for being behind assaulting and murdering people in and around the region. It is also reported that Ajay and Sanjay are engaged by the village and block officers who now find their corrupt practices exposed and threatened due to the human rights activities and solidarity movements initiated by the PVCHR in the region through their staff Mr. Mangala Prasad.

When Mangala was threatened he ran away from the place where he was stopped and got a lift from a passerby on his scooter. That night Mangala stayed at his relative's house at Babatpur. In the meanwhile Mangala also informed the matter to his office. The next day, on October 21, 2007 Mangala went to the Phulpur Police Station to lodge a complaint regarding the incident. The Station Officer informed Mangala that he had already received information about the incident over telephone from the PVCHR the previous night and had dispatched a Sub-Inspector to the site. The officer also informed Mangala that the Sub-Inspector had returned after a while and had reported that noting like what was alleged by Mangala in his complaint had happened.[viii]

Case No. 14 e

Dalit activist Rajesh Kumar S/o Jamuna Prasad resident of Koraw Town Area (Ward No. 3 Chamanganj) Allahabad. Rajesh Kumar is working as district Human Rights monitor in the partnership of Peoples' Vigilance Committee on Human Rights, Varanasi & Peoples' Watch, Tamil Nadu. He helped dalit in the case against the Ram Sandehi Patel.

On 11th February, 2011 morning around 10 am Rajesh Kumar was reading the newspaper at the Sunder Lal Kushwaha C/O Prem Shanker Shukla ward no 2 Goving Nagar Koraw meanwhile the relative of perpetrator Bhanu Patel S/o Surya Lal Patel village Semhariya, Hall Mukam Ward No. 2 Govind Nagar Koraw started to abuse me by using filthy word like Chamar & Siyar. When Rajesh protest than he given threat him and come forward to beat him. Bhanu is agitated with him and he is insulting Rajesh in the area and also planning to beat him.

Case no. 15
Guria received threats for their work against human trafficking. Guria is a human rights organisation working against child prostitution and human trafficking in Varanasi city of Uttar Pradesh state. This is not the first occasion where the staff members of Guria have received threats and intimidation. On each occasion, they have complained to the local authorities, including the local police. They threatened the staff members that they must inform Mr. Ajeet Singh, the President of Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan, that he must not enter the Shivdaspur red-light area should he wish to live.

You are cordially invited to participate in the meeting on the situation of human rights defender of Uttar Pradesh hold by PVCHR (Peoples ‘Vigilance Committee on Human Rights) under EU project on reducing the police torture of Muslim Minority and Human Rights Defenders Alert. The Cheif Guest of this meeting will be Mr. Anil Kumar Prarashar, Joint Registrar and focal point- human rights defender, National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi

The purpose of the meeting is those human rights defenders associated with Minority, Dalit, Tribal, Women and Children of Uttar Pradesh are continuously getting threat. Now the question arises about the security of human rights defenders.

The National Human Rights Commission, India, 2010 has listed 25 cases related to Human Rights Defenders, out of which 12 cases are from Uttar Pradesh. The national and regional political parties have been expressing their concerns on growing number of attacks on the human rights defenders in the state.

Mr. Ajeet, Ms Manju and Mr. Atul Sharma face extreme threat for their work against child trafficking. Both Sanjay and Anil Singh from Bundelkhand known for their work on water rights and empowerment of women lost their activist father last year. The accused, a sympathizer of ruling party absconded from the court premises and now threat to kill both brothers. Dalit activist, Mr. Harilal was killed by the mafias controlling employment generation programme for poor like MGNEREGA. Mr. Mangla who works on dalit rights was denied bail by the court on a bailable offence. Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, Shruti Nagvanshi with five colleagues’ were charged under IPC 505 B. Also Ms. Shruti faced attack by the Upper caste people. The state of Uttar Pradesh throws an interesting example of nexus among judiciary, police, political parties and non state actors against the human rights defenders.